Category Archives: New Music

The NatCave Studio’s very own DRU just dropped the music video for his latest track titled Dear Beloved, featuring vocals by Los, and we are so excited to share it with you all. This song is part of an upcoming album called AM2 (Return of Tha King) and the entire project is expected to make its’ debut in Fall 2017.

Pictured above: snapshot from Dear Beloved music video

The video, shot in the streets of Brooklyn and Harlem, depicts a story about two lovers crossing paths. According to DRU, “It’s about finding your long-lost love, or someone who is compatible to you. Your soulmate could be right around the corner, but it may take a while for you to come together. I was inspired to write this song after watching a movie where two soulmates kept crossing paths, but didn’t even know each other.”

DRU (which stands for Divine Ruler Universal) has been a loyal NatCave Studio artist for almost a decade and we’re always glad to have him. A personal shout out from DRU goes to:

Landmind Hip HopNat Foreman for helping record Dear BelovedOo La La Films for the Dear Beloved music video
and lastly, for all the artists out there doing it for the love of music

Juice Cannon (aka JuicePac)RapperFrom Lagos, Nigeria
Currently in Brooklyn, New York

With the recent release of his EP titled JuicePac, our Crooklyn rapper Juice Cannon takes the time to sit down with us and reflect on the recording process. (Note: His previous album was titled Now Leaving Crooklyn)

Scroll through the interview below to find more about the birth of JuicePac at NatCave Studio.

What inspired you to make this JuicePac mixtape?Juice Cannon: October is all about Halloween and it’s the month I started this project. Everybody likes to dress up and be someone they usually aren’t. Instead of dressing up, I wanted to embrace Pac’s persona and take it to the next level by showcasing that style in a mixtape. Adding Juice Cannon’s personal style to Tupac’s legendary flow brings us JuicePac.

What was your favorite part of the process?JC: We recorded everything in a total of two days, all at NatCave Studio! I’ve been going to this studio for over ten years now and I just keep coming back. When I started this JuicePac project, I wanted to switch it up and try a different studio. Things didn’t go so well and I realized I was wasting my time, so I hit up Nat and we knocked it out in two days. Our final day of recording was even on my birthday.

What’s it like working with Nat at NatCave Studio?JC: It’s great. He’s an extremely reliable audio engineer and he matches my workaholic energy. I started coming to the studio when I was 14 and I’ve been Nat’s client ever since.

Out of all the songs in this EP, which ones should fans check out first?
JC: Most definitely JuicePac because that’s the name of the tape. It’s Halloween themed and I’m paying tribute to one of my favorite rappers by creating my own alter ego.

Another one is called Connected– I feel like knowing the right people and being in a circle full of connections allows me to get my hands on anything I want. Some of the lyrics are “I’m connected, everywhere I go I’m respected…” it’s pretty self-explanatory. Go check it out, then listen to the rest of the tracks too!

Any special shout outs as your JuicePac mixtape finally gets released?
JC: Nat is the ultimate MVP! Without him I couldn’t have gotten the project done. Also a special shout out to Severiti, who is the only other artist I featured on this mixtape. Lastly, thank you to my fans for the 500+ plays in the last 7 days since JuicePac was released. It really means a lot and I have more new stuff coming soon!

This weekend, Juice Cannon is hosting a private party celebrating JuicePac’s debut with family, friends and other respected rappers. Congratulations and thanks for trusting our team at NatCave Studio! Stream the EP below and please don’t hesitate to show your support.

On Friday, October 30th 2015 The NatCave Studio hosted the Fall 2015 Studio Cypher. This was our 2nd cypher in this series.

At the last minute Nat decided to stream the event live to YouTube. This was quite the challenge but in no time we had 3 cameras feeding the cypher to the internet as it was happening. Here are some shortcuts to each artists performance:

We had some special surprise guests on this cypher, long-time artists that have been working outside the studio for a while. Nothing beats the energy in the studio when we all get together and work on one a project.

Here are some Instagram photos/videos from the cypher:

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The Winter 2016 NatCave Studio Cypher is coming up in January. We’ve got some great ideas lined up. We will hold a poll on NatCave.com with multiple beats to choose from. We’ll use the winning instrumental for the next cypher. We’re also wiring an additional speaker in the studio so everyone can enjoy the live performances.

After an awesome milestone birthday weekend, Shontyce was right back in the studio working on some new joints. One of the tracks she surprised me with was a fierce rendition of Monster.

The beat will already wake people up as soon as it comes on with a siren in the intro background, warning listeners that danger is coming. Shontyce delivers a powerful performance to match the energy of the track.

For this mix I wanted to showcase Shontyce’s naturally awesome singing style and do some cool effects to the beat to make it fresh. When she says

“Raised in Southside but from the BX”

I immediately felt compelled to add something special. If you were a hip hop fan back in the late 90’s, then you remember those infamous words from Déjà Vu (Uptown Baby)… “But if it wasn’t for the Bronx this rap shit probably never would be going on so tell me where you from?”. I played with the sample for a while, soon realizing there where too many words for the small space I had, so I focused on just “The Bronx”. I used another sample when Shontyce says

“My style and my smile is what makes me a beast”.

Shontyce and I know where I found that sample, though I won’t mention it here. You’re welcome to listen to it and solve the mystery.

Shontyce told me this song is part of new promotion she is calling #ShontyceTuesdays where she releases a new track each Tuesday.

This definitely gives you an idea of what it’s like working with her. She’s focused, devoted and goal oriented, not to mention extremely talented. Check out Monster on Souncloud with over 100 plays in 24 hours.